Influencer Marketing Breaks New Ground This Election Season, Takes Political Landscape By Storm

India Influence Report
2019 reveals how influencer marketing is becoming an indispensable part of
brand’s marketing metrics as well as image positioning campaigns of major
political parties in India

Zefmo’s
India Influence Report 2019 paints a positive outlook for the influencer
marketing landscape while focusing on silver linings of the industry’s
commendable journey in a very short span of time.

With the
incredible success of influencer campaigns in the consumer market, it has
created new avenues for the industry and now it is in the irreversible process
of permeating to all spheres of human life, including politics and elections.
The 2019 parliamentary elections process across the country and the recent
announcement of BJP’s thumping win gave us a clear picture of the extensive
demand and use of social media and social media influencers to successfully
reach out to voters and strike a chord with them.

The
increasing penetration of internet across the nook and corners of the country
has also empowered and helped social media influencers nowadays intaking up a
critical role in shaping the course of most of the decisions that their
followers take, including their voting preferences. And it has led to a
paradigm shift in the planning and focus of political campaigns.

India
Influence Report 2019 by Zefmo Media Private Limited revealed what drove
political parties and marketers in India to integrate influencer
marketing for an impactful campaign. As per the report, 65% marketers
and strategists shared that it helped in increasing (brand) awareness and
recall; 50% of the respondent also agreed that it is effective in managing
(brand) reputation and sentiments while 47% says it is effective in reaching out
and influencing the new target audience.

For the
first time in the history of general elections in India, the social media influencers
were seen playing an important role to reach out to targeted audiences in
various parts of the country.

We see the
influencer marketing industry gradually maturing with brands across verticals
and size, political parties, individuals relying heavily on influencer-driven
campaigns nowadays for their product or campaign positioning as well as
messaging.

In
2018, while 92% marketers/strategists were expected to launch at least one
influencer campaign, the report reveals that the popularity of influencer
marketing has considerably increased in 2019 with 94% marketers/strategists
finding it more effective and 85% continuously exploring innovative ways to
collaborate with social media influencers.

The
report further indicates that 76% marketers/strategists are looking to increase
their budget allocation on influencer marketing campaigns this year compared to
62% last year.

India
Influence Report 2019 has been prepared by Zefmo after conducting a detailed
survey involving all the stakeholders, ranging from brand custodians to content
creators across the Indian ecosystem in the last few months.

Positive Outlook for
Influencer Marketers/Strategists

India
Influence Report 2019 clearly indicates that the perception of influencer
marketing has further improved among the brands that are increasingly
recognizing the value addition offered by the influencer campaigns, in terms of
grabbing more eyeballs for their products and services.

India
Influence Report 2018 had revealed how influencer marketing was being seen as a
marketing tool that can help brands leverage their product or image
effectively.

The 2019
report underlines the indispensability of social media influencers as critical
marketing tools who help the brands in getting their (product and service)
messages conveyed across with more passion, creativity and authenticity.

Why marketers look at it
as impactful & integral?

Respondents
participating in Zefmo’s survey for the 2019 India Influence Report agrees on 3
major points as to why influencer marketing remains an integral tool to the
overall marketing campaign.

· 56%
say it effectively helps in connecting with both millennials and centennials

· 45%
see it as a better alternative to traditional advertising

The survey
clearly shows that more and more marketers/strategists are now inclined to
explore innovative ways of integrating social media influencers with their
marketing strategy.

India Influence Report 2019:
Key takeaways

The report sheds lights
on many positives of the influencer marketing industry. It reveals how
marketers/strategists are opting for influencer campaigns to create awareness,
manage reputation and influence the new audience.

Salient points :

· 94%
marketers/strategists found influencer marketing to be an effective form of
marketing

· 73%
of marketers/strategists have revealed that they actively engage social
influencers as part of either ‘always-on’ program, integrated program or
campaign basis while 27% are still experimenting with influencer
marketing

· 70%
marketers/strategists responded “Yes” when asked if “exclusivity with social
influencers is better for their brand?”

According
to this report, there has been a palpable change in consumer behaviour in India in terms
of how they look at social media influencers. Earlier, the purchasing behaviour
of the consumers was heavily influenced by the product messaging relayed through
advertisements. However, things have started to change now with the consumer
displaying the propensity to repose greater faith and trust in those people,
celebrities or otherwise, who he follows on social media platforms.

The survey
unambiguously underlines how the social media influencers and influencer
marketing are playing a critical role in shaping the decisions of the people,
and not just purchasing decisions but even voting opinions. The
marketers/strategists are gradually realizing the potential and power that the
influencers wield and how influencer marketing produces incredible results when
strategically integrated with the marketing mix.

“We are
increasingly witnessing that the penetration of internet and social media is
playing a very important role in the lives of people in India and influencers
as a key part of the social media universe are actively making an impact by
spreading positive messages and increasing diversity,” said Shudeep Majumdar,
Co-founder, Zefmo. “We have seen influencers playing a very critical role in
spreading great positive effects and promoting things like body positivity,
spreading messages about speaking out about the #MeToo movement which has
rapidly changed the way people think about and approach sexual
assault, and environmentally conscious movements like veganism. Increasingly
these trends are changing our expectations about our rights, about what we can
do to get support, and about it being okay to say you are after all human.”

The
influencer marketing industry is expected to hit $10 billion by 2020, according
to an AdWeek report, and the increasing popularity of the industry can be
gauged by the way it is expanding to every nook and cranny of the digital
ecosystem – from brand campaign to political campaign.

Budget
allocation& engagement: Upward trend continues

The survey
indicates that the influencer marketing industry is set to grab a bigger chunk
of budget allocation and campaign engagement in 2019.

Key
Points:

· 76%
marketers/strategists are of the view that the influencer marketing budget in
2019 will remain the same compared to last year or increase

· 60%
marketers/strategists opined that their influencer marketing campaign will
start from a minimum of 5 lacs and will go beyond 25 lacs on the higher side
with more marketers/strategists opting for the latter

· 69%
marketers/strategists are clear that social influencers will be engaged more
during launches in 2019

· 61%
said they will engage influencers to build and enhance reputation

· 40%
are of the view that 2019 will also see more engagement of influencers to
promote and distribute content

· In
terms of the content format influencers can help leverage as per the India
Influence Report 2019, 55% marketers/strategists are convinced that reviews and
videos content(YT, IGTV etc.) will be the most effective channels while 50% are
of the view that Instagram will also remain an effective platform

Challenges
to look out for in 2019

Designing
a creative influencer marketing campaign is not an easy task and its
effectiveness does not necessarily depend on the strategy. There are certain
challenges that need to be kept in mind while running an influencer marketing
campaign. As per the report, the top three things that need to be taken into consideration
for a successful campaign are:

· 65%
also agrees that the most important thing is to choose the right influencer
with image and identity that is in line with the brand’s/party’s messaging and
ideology

· The
second thing to look should be a credible number of followers who recognises
and identifies with the influencer’s image. 65% marketers/strategists say that
the authenticity of influencer should be determined

· 56%
says that for any campaign to be successful the effectiveness of the campaign
should be measured properly